


The Ultimate Survivor

by EvelynMichelle



Category: New Dangan Ronpa V3: Everyone's New Semester of Killing
Genre: A talent like Ultimate Survivor could have had some really cool implications in a killing game, Gen, Instead they just used it to further their silly meta plot, Set in Chapter 1, Takes place the very first night of the game, bit of a character study maybe, so I wanted to fix that, the Ultimate Survivor and the suicidal one could have some interesting conversations, they don't actually have much interaction in game, two characters chatting
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-20
Updated: 2021-03-20
Packaged: 2021-03-29 02:35:16
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,384
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/30149439
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/EvelynMichelle/pseuds/EvelynMichelle
Summary: Ryoma doesn't really care if he survives this game or not. He's going back to prison even if he does. But there's someone else who really, really does care. Maybe they can learn a lot from each other.Or maybe they'll both just get themselves killed.
Kudos: 6





	The Ultimate Survivor

The beds were nicer than prison at least. Ryoma thought to himself in the darkness of his room. The rooms were classy, all things considered, if a bit plain. He’d gotten a peek of Kaito’s room earlier, and determined that they were all the same. Nothing wrong with that. Though the inventor and the tiny evil overlord had complained about the size.

One good thing about being so small, smaller spaces weren’t as much of a problem. He pitied Gonta trying to fit himself in the same-sized room everyone else had. But the gentle giant hadn’t so much as dropped his smile. 

He closed his eyes and listened to the quiet hum of the air conditioner. 

Much better than prison.

For captives, they were being suspiciously well taken care of.

Movement outside the window drew his attention when he reopened his eyes. The grounds were well lit even this late so it wasn’t surprising that one of these kids was out. But then, wandering the grounds alone in the dead of night looked awfully suspicious if anyone saw you.

He climbed out of bed to get a better look.

His ground floor room gave him a perfect angle but even a mile away he couldn’t have missed that bright tea-green hair. What was his name? The one who couldn’t remember his talent. He’d been suspiciously calm the whole day and here he was wandering around at night. What was that boy up to?

He wasn’t acting like he was hiding from anyone or anything, simply walking the path towards the back of the school with a cloth bag strung over his shoulder.

Curiosity peaked and not particularly afraid to die. Ryoma grabbed his hat from the coffee table and left his room as well. The only thing he knew of back there was the boiler room and what reason would anyone have to go there alone at night? Surely he wasn’t stupid enough to try that death trap of an exit alone, was he? The kid seemed like he’d had a good head on his shoulders, compared to some of the others at least. 

Rantaro, his name was Rantaro.

There was no sign of Rantaro as Ryoma entered the boiler room, but neither had he been in the backyard. So that left the manhole. 

“C’mon, kid. Don’t be an idiot.”

Rantaro wasn’t at the bottom of the ladder, but the bag was. A big red cross on the upward-facing side told him what was in it faster than the words FIRST-AID KIT could have.

“Well, at least you’re not completely stupid.”

He watched for a while, curious and out of sight. Rantaro appeared in the tunnel more than once, sometimes looking confused, others times exasperated, but each time looking worse than the last. But only once did he require the assistance of the bag. He applied an ointment to some wound on his right arm and wrapped it up like he’d done it a hundred times before.

Ryoma didn’t have a watch, but it was a safe guess that they’d both been there for several hours.

“You’ll kill yourself if you keep this up.” Ryoma stepped a bit further into the light. Rantaro didn’t want to look startled, but it was clear he’d taken the kid by surprise.

Bending with his hands on his knees and breathing heavily Rantaro chuckled.

“Nah, I think I’ve got a few more rounds left in me.” He coughed, speaking getting in the way of his oxygen intake.

“You don’t look it.” 

“I’m tougher than I look, old man.”

“I’m not any older than the rest of you.” Ryoma fiddled with his hat and made to move closer but at just a look and light tensity of Rantaro’s weary frame, he discarded that idea.

“Suspicious, aren’t you?” Rather than moving closer, Ryoma stepped back.

Rantaro gave another light laugh, it seemed to be his default response to discomfort.

“I know right?” he said with a smile, still bent over and his breathing not yet under control. “Trust issues. It’s just sad.”

“Hmm, I don’t know. It’s pretty reasonable. Given the circumstances.”

“Most of the others would disagree.”

It was my turn to laugh. “True, Kaede’s little speeches are something else aren’t they.”

“Would be if my brain wasn’t hardwired to think everyone’s got an ulterior motive.”

“What d’you mean?”

He straightened up and ran a hand through his hair. Thinking for a moment about his answer while not taking his eyes off Ryoma in case he made a move he didn’t like.

“I’ll explain it like this, I guess. Kokichi and I have a little bet going on.”

“Which one’s Kokichi?”

“The little gremlin with purple hair.”

“The mini dark lord. Got it.”

“Yeah. He thinks Angie is going to die first. She’s the artist.” He clarified for my sake, too many introductions in one day. It’s a wonder he’s managed to keep them all straight.

“You’re betting on who dies first? That’s a little morbid, don’t you think.”

“Don’t tell Kaede. Or Kaito… or well, just don’t mention it at all actually.”

“Sure, but why?”

“Why are we betting? We just met, but Kokichi’s kinda like me in that way. We sorta laugh off our anxieties. Pretend they don’t affect us. Stuff like that, it's kinda my way of coping.”

“I see.”

“Anyway, he thinks it’s gonna be Angie because she’s ‘tiny and annoying’ his words.”

“And you?”

“Shuichi.”

He gave me time to figure it out on my own.

“Because he spends so much time with Kaede?”

“Pathetic aren’t I. All her time spent trying to get us all to work together and I’m over here convinced she’s plotting something.”

“That’s some paranoia you’ve got there, kid.”

“Don’t I know it.” He turned back towards the tunnel, taking his eyes off me for the first time since I’d announced myself. It only lasted for a moment. “Can’t help it though.”

“You know it’s a trap, right?”

He sighed. “Yeah, I know.”

“There isn’t anything at the end of that gauntlet. No exit, not even a booby prize.”

“Probably. But I have to try. I refuse to die here, I still haven’t…” he cut himself off with one of his rare frowns. One that didn’t tell you anything about how he was feeling. “I can’t be stuck here, I don’t have time for this. I’m getting out. No matter what.”

“I get it. You’ve got yourself a pretty strong reason to live. But what are you going to do when you get to the end and it’s just some congratulations post-it note with a doodle of a bear or something?”

His smiles didn’t say much more than his frowns. “Guess I’ll move on to plan b, then.”

“What’s plan b?”

“Dunno, haven’t made it yet.” He chuckled to himself. “Let me know if you get any ideas.”

“Where does murder stack in your plan alphabet?” I asked wishing I had a cigarette. Talking to this kid was making me anxious. 

“Are you hoping I’ll deny it?”

I just shrugged but that seemed to be enough of an answer for him.

“I’d like to think I’m not capable of murder. But I’d be lying to myself. If I thought it’d get me out of here, and I run out of options… who knows.”

“You don’t think you could get away with it?” I asked admittedly a bit relieved. Not for myself, but for the others. They’re good kids… or most of them are.

“I don’t think Monokuma will follow the rules.”

“The blackened gets to graduate.” I quoted the rule if Monokuma didn’t have to follow the rules then we all could just be on the fast track to Hell.

“I dunno why, but I get the feeling graduating and leaving aren’t the same thing. If they can take my memories what’s to stop them from trapping me here indefinitely?”

“You’re gonna give me nightmares, kid. And that’s not an easy thing to do.”

“Sorry. Ignore me. I’m just paranoid. I’ve been in enough dangerous situations to know sleeping’s not an option. So I’d rather just take my chances with the death trap. I’ll be fine.” He pointed his thumb at the tunnel behind him with a hand on his hip. The bandage on his right arm seemed to disagree with that idea. But Ryoma wasn’t going to dissuade the kid. 

“Sure. Let me know what you find? That way I know if I need to worry if plan b involves dead teenagers.”

He chuckled again, the kid had a messed up sense of humor.

“Give me some credit. It’s at least as low as plan F.” His smile was bright, as though the topic wasn’t murder, or perhaps because. He had admitted it was his coping mechanism after all.

“Good to know, that’ll give ‘em a couple days at least.” He allowed himself to indulge in a little of Rantaro’s coping mechanism. It didn’t feel good.

“Them?” he asked his smile gaining a bit of an edge. “Why are you volunteering?”

Perceptive as well as paranoid a dangerous combination if you were his enemy.

“Rules state if the killer gets by with it everyone else dies. Not much of a sacrifice if it gets everyone else killed right along with me. Otherwise, I might just. Unlike you, the only thing I’ve got to look forward to is another prison. Might as well do someone some good before I go.”

“Well, that’s a matter of perspective.”

“How do you mean?”

He thought about it again, rather than just saying what first came to mind as most kids do. 

“A sacrifice that isn’t valuable isn’t much use to anyone.”

I waited for him to clarify.

“You’re talking about letting someone kill you to get out of here. Calling it a sacrifice. But when you sacrifice something that has no value no good can come of it in the end. That’s what I think anyway.”

“You’re saying you don’t think my life has any value?” 

“It’s not what I think that matters.” He sighed his hands on his hips as though he knew his explanation was inadequate.

“So you think that because I don’t value my life it’d be pointless to give it up even to save someone else.”

“Hmm not quite. Maybe I shouldn’t have said anything. It’s just my opinion after all.”

“Nope, too late. I’m curious now.” I stood my ground, partly in revenge and partly out of the curiosity I claimed.

“Drat. Okay, I had a maid growing up and she explained it like this. I believe the value of life isn’t determined by the person living it, but by the people who’ll miss it when it’s over.”

I blinked at him, fiddling with my hat and letting the sentence run by me again. When I did I couldn’t help but wonder what occasion his maid had to tell him this.

“I see.”

“Yeah?”

“I don’t have anyone who’ll miss me when I’m gone, therefore my sacrifice isn’t worth much.” I thought about it for a minute but shook my head. “Can’t say I agree, but I see where you’re coming from. Let me guess, you’ve got a lot of people who’ll miss you when you’re gone.”

“Yeah, kinda, at least I hope they will, if they even know I’m missing yet. Thus the paranoia and desperation.”

“Right. You’re an interesting kid, Rantaro. I’ll admit that. But you’ve still got a ways to go.”

“Don’t we all?” he laughed, it was a more open laugh this time. Maybe a bit more honest.

“You’re anxious to get back in that tunnel, aren’t you?” Ryoma said so the kid wouldn’t feel obligated to stick around and chat any longer. “I’m not much use in there at my size, but I’ll stick around and help you patch yourself up when you’re done.”

Rantaro didn’t move and his smile went right back to the usual one. Ryoma had a feeling he knew why.

“Unless you’d rather I didn’t.”

“It’s not that I don’t like you, but I’ve spent half this conversation waiting for you to pull out a knife or something.”

“Jeeze kid, that might be a sign you need therapy.”

“Sorry.”

“It’s all right. You’re a survivor, I respect that. But you’re gonna have to find someone to trust eventually. Fighting this battle alone is going to get you killed.”

“I’ll keep that in mind.”

Ryoma turned and left the manhole before he could make the kid any more uncomfortable.

@

Even marred as it was with red, Ryoma’d recognize that green hair anywhere. He stood there staring at the crumpled and bloody body of a young man who was desperate to survive. The others around him reacted in various states of surprise and horror. 

This is exactly what he’d been hoping to prevent by volunteering himself to die. Monokuma’s first blood perk gave them a perfect opportunity to get help and yet…

No, he couldn’t blame them, they were just kids. Not ready to make logical sacrifices, simply reacting to their emotions. Hope and fear and suspicion. No doubt this murder was one of panic and desperation, not out of a desire to kill or any malice whatsoever.

But why him though…

“So the one who wanted to survive died and the one who wanted to die survived.”

Pathetic irony. In the end, neither of them took the other’s advice.

He hid it well, but after the class trial was all said and done he wasn’t sure he could completely forgive Kaede. After all her talk of teamwork and togetherness, she’d made her plan all on her own and gotten a good kid killed. Gotten two good kids killed. It almost made him want to give up on trust altogether. After all, it turned out that Rantaro’s paranoid suspicions of the girl were right on the money, even if her intentions had been good. 

Ryoma blew his cigarette smoke into the night air. The others had already departed to relieve their exhaustion from the days' events, but Ryoma lingered by the red door looking up at the strange stars that no one recognized.

“Don’t worry, kid. Even if all the others out there you’ve got don’t know to yet, I’ll miss you. So it won’t be a waste. I promise.”

**Author's Note:**

> I really prefer the theory that Rantaro survived his killing game by becoming blackened. The stupid sacrifice bit was annoying and it made him a lot shallower of a character in my opinion. The game has never even touched on a 'what if the backend wins' angle.


End file.
